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Monday, July 08, 2013

A reader asks: Was I right to pass along a counterfeit coin

Thanks for standing by while I get a few things done. In anticipation of this little break, I recruited a slate of guest posters, who were supposed to keep things going during my absence. Unfortunately, they all seem to be suffering from writer's block. I'll be back soon, and regular psoting will resume. In the meantime please enjoy this guest post-- DB

Hello Readers of DovBear! You last heard from me about two years ago when I tried to argue that it was okay to use my iPhone on shabbos. Many of you disagreed, including DovBear himself. But the 100s of comments you left were thought provoking all the same.

Today I have another controversial subject to discuss. For the moment, I live abroad in what some might call a banana republic. The other day, one of my coins was rejected by a vending machine. Later, a street vendor threw it back at me when I tried to use it purchase lunch. "This is fake," he said.

The next day, I purchased some flowers. In exchange for the flowers, I gave the vendor a handful of coins. One of them was the fake. My son, who was there when the lunch vendor rejected my coin and saw me pass it off on the flower vendor, called me a crook. But I don't see it that way.

The coin itself has no value. It isn't a piece of gold or silver. Its a piece of scrap metal that only has value because we, as a society, have agreed to accept it in exchange for goods and services. I ended up with the fake coin, because of a trade. Someone gave it to me in exchange for something else. Later, the flower vendor accepted it in exchange for the flowers and he, no doubt, will be able to trade the bad coin for something else, just as I did.

Where's the harm? It will always be possible to find someone willing to accept the fake coin, so who is being cheated?

If it relates to Jews, Judaism, holidays, Midrash,Torah, halacha or anything similar, I probably have a post on it. And if I have a post on it, I probably have a good comment thread with great reader-provided information, too.

Try a search and see for yourself. If you can't find what you're looking for ask me.

Quotes

רֹאשׁ דְּבָרְךָ אֱמֶת קוֹרֵא מֵרֹאשׁ דּוֹר וָדוֹר עַם דּוֹרֶשְׁךָ דְּרֹשׁ
Your chief word is "truth"; You've called it out since the beginning. In each generation people interpret You [for themselves] and find [their own] meaning.

You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you odd. -Flannery O'Connor

“When in the afterglow of religious insight I can see a way that is good for all humans as it is for me—I will know it is His way.” - R. Abraham Joshua Heschel

I don't accept at all the quite popular argument that the press is responsible for the monarchy's recent troubles. The monarchy's responsible for the monarchy's recent troubles. To blame the press is the old thing of blaming the messenger for the message. -Anthony Holden

Said behind my back

"...he's trying to show that there are other facets to Orthodox Judaism. That we don't all think one way and vote one way. And he's occasionally entertaining when he's not being mean-spirited" [PsychoToddler]"

"He's witty. He's funny. He appreciates the ridiculous in life, and has no qualms about telling you when he thinks that you're being a moron" [Cara]

" I'm pretty sure [DovBear] is a really great guy who just wants to be able to ask questions and talk about things without the fear of someone claiming he's off the derech or on his way there." [Chaviva]